Mr. Bermudes said Mr. Lobo's case had no legal basis because, in Brazil, assets can only be frozen in specific types of cases, such as when responsibility has been proven and there is a risk of assets being hidden.

OGX, the flagship for Mr. Batista's struggling empire, recently said that four of its five offshore fields aren't economically viable.

Mr. Bermudes also said Mr. Batista's father, Eliezer Batista, has not resigned as a board member at his son's naval construction firm OSX Brasil, as reported in a regulatory filing.

The possibility of his resignation was at some point discussed in the board meeting, to avoid giving investors the impression Mr. Batista was there only to protect his son, but the idea was not accepted by the father, Mr. Bermudes said.

However, the information was registered in a regulatory filing. "That was a mistake made by the person who wrote the minutes of the meeting" the lawyer said.